Moments of Clarity

Stand Up Desk: Up, Running, & Productive

The stand up desk is in full effect now.  An additional bonus that was really not thought through was the under desk storage/platform for my printers/tower, etc.  There's even 12 inches of available space under the shelf for box storage or otherwise.

Let me summarize.

1. I used a Mayline drafting table procured via Craigslist for $150.
2. Paid about $8.00 for a box of "bed stands" from Target that raised each desk leg 6 inches to get the proper height (for me).
3. I'm finding the productivity great.  However, the day after the 3x per week triathlon workouts, it's a bit tough to stand in the early AM.
4. It took me over 2 years to think about this and finally make the move.  I'll report on progress/feeling/posture, etc. along the way

Stand Up Desk - Modifying the Base Structure

Based on recommendation from a friend as an alternative to construction, I found a Mayline Drafting Table on Craigslist for $150.  These babies are about $!500 new!  They last forever.  The desk is steel and ultra tough.  The top "drafting table" portion is 6 FEET WIDE and about 4 FEET DEEP.  The slope of the table is of course adjustable.  The only thing I need to do now is adjust the height upward.  I'm working on that.  Also, There's a 7 inch deep shelf (it's really a cross brace for the desk) that could hold printers, etc.  I've cut a shelf from a pre-fab "faux wood shelf" in the same wood tone as the desk to put down there. That will get me almost 24 inches of depth on the shelf and make that space much more useful.

Pictures are coming soon.   

Triathlon Update - Week II

As I approach the end of week 2 in my new program of triathlon training.  I wanted to share a few observations in case anyone else out there might find the whole triathlon thing intriguing.

1. Forget about modesty.  On day 1, I arrived ready to swim in my "O.P. Board Shorts".  Can you say DRAG.  I was told that I need to get "Tri-Shorts" or another type of swim suit called a "Jammer".  Bottom line....you're now swimming in spandex cycling shorts.  Yeah...it's as shocking as you might think.  I've worn cycling shorts now for riding for a couple of years...but I don't parade around shirtless.  I quickly abandoned thoughts of what the "others might think" and just "did it".  Yikes.  Tanning booth sessions should be included at no extra charge.
2. Remember when you were a kid and you swam ALL DAY...and when you got out your appetite was so big you could eat a horse?  Yeah.  That still happens.   I'm doing about 8 hours of intensive cardio (the trainer is beyond intense on the spinning) per week along with maybe 1 heavy lifting session per week. My response has been to eat double protein when I can and ratchet up the good carbs.  My weight is actually stabilized but I seem to be dropping body fat.  The last 6 weeks or so has netted 2% body fat drop while gaining about 5 lbs of lean muscle.  Not bad I guess.
3. Running is dumb.  OK sorry.  I haven't run (except from bad people) in 10+ years.  Getting on the treadmill and putting in 3 miles was a shock.  I immediately began to feel some kind of outer foot discomfort resulting in a doctor visit and anti-inflammatory pills for tendinitis.  That's on the  mend but it's very punishing on the joints to slam 225lbs down on them over and over.  I feel a bit like a mouse on a wheel.  I need to become lighter to make the whole running deal work for me. 
4. There's a web site out there called www.beginnertriathlete.com.  It's a most amazing compilation of just about everything one needs to understand this self-torture plan shrouded in a "sport" label.
5. I figured all of this exercise would make me sleep a ton.  However, as soon as I started on the plan, I have crashed out earlier than normal.  Say by 9PM.  But I'm waking up around midnight wide awake.  After an hour of tossing around, I'll fall back to sleep and wake again around 4:15AM.  If I continue to toss, my mind is very active and I don't fall back to sleep until 5:30AM or so causing a 7:15AM wake up that's groggy and very demanding of caffeine.  Dr. Jason says "I'm raising my core body temperature late in the evening" since my workouts are from 5:30PM-7:30PM "and that could be causing your sleep patterns to be disrupted".  Well, he knows these things as a sleep medicine specialist. (Good luck with your board exam). 
   

All sardonic comments aside, I'm enjoying the heck out of this training.  Although it takes a larger than normal commitment, I believe it's going to push me to the best shape of my life and a more desirable body weight and will set an example for my kids and family...after all...they're what matter most.

Embarking on a New Physical Quest Today: The Hy-Vee Triathlon

I'm not sure what the driving force is behind my quest to be challenged physically over the last couple years.  I've never been ultra competitive in sports...and I haven't been under 200lbs since about 1995.  It began with cycling when we moved here to Iowa...then RAGBRAI entered the picture.  My "oh my God I'm going to die soon" moments on RAGBRAI 2006 made me go for 2007 with a vengeance...training solidly for a full 3 months to attain a modicum of fitness.  Now it seems, I've got it in my head that I should do a triathlon.  Why?  There's a prep class starting now that take one all the way to the Hy-Vee Triathlon in June here in Des Moines.  It starts tonight with swimming. 

I called the guy running the classes and asked if this was meant for elite athletes, etc...and he simply asked, "Can you swim 50 meters and live?"  I chuckled but realized that I had no idea.  He went on to explain that like me, he loved cycling...deplored running...and that swimming is just the hardest part that one must get through.  This Sunday I headed over to Aspen on the south side and found that I could swim the 50 meters but it was taxing.  I definitely need some technique, some goggles, etc. (Don't worry, no speedos in the required equipment list).  He told me that half the people that started out last time, couldn't get 50 meters in and had to exit the pool.  So far so good.  I did about 300 meters with rest in between some 50 meter sprints and some 50 meter back strokes.

Thus, today I officially declare the beginning of my triathlon training. I will appreciate it greatly if you could plan on being downtown on June 22, 2008 to watch me SPRINT across the finish line...anywhere but LAST in my age group (35-39).  The beer and brats are on me afterwards. 

If all goes well, I'll be in the best shape of my life by next summer.  3-2-1...launch.

Quote of the Year

“A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.”

-Robert A. Heinlein

(borrowed from comments on this post...thanks Hunter)

Validation for my Struggle

Wow.  If you're a PhD in a subset of some science field, click away now.  Tim Ferriss, best selling author and life coach has posted a blog called, "The Top 5 Reasons To Be A Jack Of All Trades"  This post has really had impact for me since I deal with this issue constantly.  More directly, being "good" at many things often makes for awkward answers to "what is it that you do?" 

Here's the wrap up quote from the author.

Don’t put on experiential blinders in the name of specializing. It’s both unnecessary and crippling. Those who label you a “jack of all trades, master of none” are seldom satisfied with themselves.

Why take their advice?

Here is a description of the incredible Alfred Lee Loomis, a generalist of the highest order who changed the course of World War II with his private science experiments, here taken from the incredible portrait of his life, Tuxedo Park:

Loomis did not conform to the conventional measure of a great scientist. He was too complex to categorize—financier, philanthropist, society figure, physicist, inventor, amateur, dilettante—a contradiction in terms.

Be too complex to categorize.

Stand Up Desk - Coming Soon

I have been searching for years...years with an S for a stand up desk that isn't a few grand.  Granted, there have been many Life Hacks that show some options out there from folks that have pieced some things together.  Heck, IKEA even made the JERKER model desk that many use a standing workstation...but that seems to have been discontinued.  There are plenty of sit-stand combos with motors and such made by uber ergonomic companies, etc...again in the thousands of dollars.

My goal is to create a computer centric stand-up desk to alleviate the absolute BODY JACK that I get from spending hours in my chair.  I know, "Get a good chair, stand/stretch every XX minutes, etc."  I cannot habitually do those things and I want to get the productivity, posture, and purpose of standing at an ultra effective workstation daily..a la Rumsfeld, da Vinci, Churchill, etc.

Here are my requirements:

1. It must be computer centric: i.e. must hold 3 or 4, 20.5 inch monitors across (not stacked with a quad mount yet).
2. It must utilize a keyboard tray.
3. It must accommodate a laptop.
4. It must have the real estate for some audio equipment (speakers, mixer, etc.)
5. It does not have to have storage per say (for files or papers)
6. It must be affordable and replicate-able (assuming others will want it)
7. Aesthetics are secondary to functionality and affordability.
8. It should have a return that is a separate "slanted writing surface" that tilts up and has storage underneath.  I don't write with a pen unless it's notes on a call...but I want that slanted surface to read/write on if I choose.
9. It needs to hide/deal with the rats nest of cables that still vex the computer world.  I so need "blue tooth electricity"
10. I needs to stand up well to coffee spill and cat hair.  I have both regularly.

I am working with my superman do everything electrician, remodeler, carpenter, plumber, family friend...Mark on this.  If he reads my blog someday, he'll know that I'm selling this as "a product that will can really sell on the web to stand up desk enthusiasts/searchers...to get the free labor.  I'll take pics, vblogs, and play by play on the way.  Comments, guidance, suggestions, pre-orders :)

A Journey Back to the Heartland

I was contacted yesterday by someone from the Orange County Register News Paper, my paper of choice when living on the Left Coast.  Apparently I have a blog reader out there that found me and thought I'd be interested in this feature by Tom Berg called, "A Ride Back In Time to the Corn Fields".

The tale begins with Paul O'Brian, a Seal Beach, CA resident and successful designer trying to ready a 1935 Ford pickup for its trip back to Grand Mound, Iowa.  O'Brian's trek to the heartland is just something he had to do to reconnect with his father's legacy of values and work ethic.  Life sure wasn't easy back then, but the elder O'Brian set Paul on the right track with a steady dose of agrarian practicality and appreciation for what's important in life.

If you have family roots in agriculture, you'll surely appreciate this story.  If you don't, it will make you wish you did. 

Enjoy.  Thanks for finding an expat OC'er living the dream in Iowa.

10 years of marriage

My wife and I just clicked off our 10th year of marriage.  The only thing I've been doing for more than 10 years in a row is breathing.  As we have reflected, looked at pictures, and relived the memories of our life together, we realized how much has changed and how little we remember about life before kids (LBK) without visual clues from pictures. 

The only things I know for certain are that during our first 5 years of marriage without kids, we:

1. "Played with our friends until late at night"
2. Had far fewer gray hairs
3. Slept in until who the heck cares
4. Had two incomes (wow...that is a faint memory)
5. Traveled less (weird I know)
6. Had far fewer answers and "truths" about life in general

Stop.  Smell the roses.  Hug your spouse.      

Testamonial For Fitness Together

I'd like to share with you all the testimonial that I've provided for Fitness Together in Clive.  If you live in the metro and are looking to change your physical fitness (weight, endurance, strength, etc.), please consider calling (515) 222.1200 or emailing Steve Reese.  Remember this all started with a blog post asking someone for a referral...which Drew McLellan provided.

I came to fitness together  in early May with the specific goal of getting ready for RAGBRAI.    I was like most I think when I walked through the door.  I knew that I needed the assistance but struggled with the concept of "paying for training" when I could just "workout myself".  After an introductory session explaining the Fitness Together system and method...I committed.  With my first 20 sessions ahead of me, the first step was to asses my current fitness level.  Calling the results disappointing would be an understatement.  They were awful.   I had a long way to go but Steve Reese, the owner of Fitness Together encouraged me and ensured me that results were just around the corner.

Steve designed a program for me that maximized my core strength, endurance, and overall fitness.  What really blew me away was how much variety there could be in building fitness.  Between free weights, machines, bands, and balls...I have never been bored with my routine.  When paired with additional cardio training, I began to see results that I had NEVER seen working out on my own.  That personal relationship between trainer and client is the key component in the Fitness Together formula of One Client - One Trainer - One Goal. 

The team at Fitness Together has always taken special care to analyze my response to certain exercises too.  I have a bad knee and a sensitive lower back.  Each trainer knows my limitations and helps me find alternative exercises that achieve the desired result without injury or irritation.

The results I've seen over the last 10 weeks at Fitness Together are nothing short of amazing.  The personalized...private approach with trainer and client in individual suites is very conducive to optimum results.  My strength and endurance are up...and my weight is down.  That's a winning combination. 

Without hesitation I highly endorse the entire Fitness Together staff and leadership.  Every trainer on staff shares the mission and passion to help you achieve your fitness goals.

Sincerely,
Doug Mitchell